How to Cite Papal Documents in Turabian

Turabian citation format, which is drawn from the Chicago Manual of Style, requires using certain forms to cite various kinds of documents in a report or paper. Citing documents issued by the Vatican or the Roman Catholic Church in a bibliography requires the same information as most other documents, including the title of the document, its author(s), and date and location of publication.

Step 1

List the author, if there is one listed in the document, as last name, first name. If the author is the pope, list him by his papal name.

Step 2

Next, put in the title of the document. Italicize the title of the document. Place a period after the title. List the date of the document’s publication, followed by a period.

Step 3

List the place of publication, followed by a period. If the document is available online, list the Uniform Resource Locator where it can be found. A full example is:

If the author(s) are a collective or organization, list the collective by its full name:

Place a period after the author’s name. If there is no author, start by listing the title.